The applicable art of the present invention relates generally to devices which aid in the removal of small batteries or handling small magnetic parts and prevents contamination of the battery surfaces with the fingers. Generally, batteries which are small, on the order of 3-5 mm in diameter and 1-3 mm in height are difficult to hold and more difficult to manipulate. Manipulation is required, however, when batteries are removed from the packages in which they are sold, or when they are installed in the various devices in which they are needed. A specific situation involves one piece hearing aids which are designed to fit within the ear.
Manipulation using the prior art necessarily entails touching the battery with the fingers, thereby contaminating the surface of the battery with oil. Such contamination interferes with the electrical contact of the battery with the contact terminals of the devices in which they are installed. Another specific situation involves photographic batteries which are required to be wiped with a cloth before being inserted in photographic equipment.
There is also need for a magnetic pickup device which can be used to pick up small fasteners, such as screws, which are used to fasten common objects such as eyeglasses, to make it easier for repairmen to handle them. Such a device is of particular value in making repairs to computer hardware and electronic assemblies which require the handling of small fasteners and parts which are difficult to place or remove because they are often located in crevices or other obstructed places. An additional requirement for handling computer or electronic parts is that the handling device be small, operable with one hand and able to retrieve or place parts without subjecting adjacent components to ranging stray magnetic fields which could cause damage or loss of programmed information. No present device is known which meets all of these requirements.
The prior art battery handling devices generally consist of a rigid or slightly flexible shaft having a lint brush at one end as shown in FIG. 1. More importantly, the shaft usually incorporates a magnet rigidly mounted in the center of the shaft with the axis of the magnet held perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. The magnet is included to provide a method to attract and hold small batteries so that they may be grasped by the user.
The prior art battery handling devices are inadequate for several reasons. First, due to the geometry of the batteries involved and the nature of magnetic forces, the batteries attracted to the magnet of the prior art device contact the magnet in an undesirable orientation. The magnet generally contacts the battery on its circumference; i.e., with the axis of the battery perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the magnet. This makes it particularly difficult to pick up the battery and insert it in a socket which grips the circumferential edge of the battery without first manipulating it with the fingers.
Manipulation of the battery when attached to the magnet is unsatisfactory because it is time consuming and difficult. Further, it is unsatisfactory because many times the user of small batteries for health aid devices, such as hearing aids, are afflicted with arthritis or have unsteady hands. The lack of dexterity in these users further complicates the task of manipulating the battery temporarily connected to the prior art device.
Second, the orientation of the magnet with respect to the shaft in the prior art device, makes the accurate placement of the battery attached to the magnet difficult. Once a battery is manually oriented on the magnet by the user, the user must then press the magnet into the socket provided by the battery-powered device. A ninety degree orientation of the magnet to the shaft makes this placement difficult.
Third, the prior art handling devices do not provide for a method of easily removing the magnet from the battery once the battery has been put in place where it is to be left. This is especially troublesome when the user is attempting to use the prior art devices to place the battery in the socket provided by the battery-powered device. After the battery has been pressed into the socket, the prior art devices have a tendency to pull the battery from the socket when removal of the prior art device is attempted.
Fourth, small battery-powered devices, such as hearing aids, generally provide a "door" or "hatch" which serves as a holder for the batteries required for its operation. Once the battery is inserted into this holder, it is rotated into the device. The battery fits snugly in the "door" of the device and is usually held in place by a friction fit between the door and the circumference of the battery. When replacement of the battery is required, the door must be dislodged from the device and rotated into its open position for removal of the old battery and insertion of the new battery. As with the manipulation of a small battery, manipulation of the "door" on a small device, such as a hearing aid, can be difficult for persons with arthritis or those who have problems manipulating their hands. The prior art devices make no provision for opening the battery doors of small devices.
Fifth, it is desirable to provide a device which allows for attachment to, manipulation of and detachment from small batteries or other parts without the necessity of handling them with the fingers. They should pick up only from the end and not the side. Physically touching a battery with the fingers often leaves a deposit of oil which can interfere with the contacts of the battery. The prior art handling devices require physical manipulation of the battery with the fingers in order to place it in the correct orientation on a freestanding magnet. They naturally are drawn to the side rather than directly under the end.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a device which allows for easy attachment and manipulation and release of small batteries and parts without the necessity of touching them. It is desirable to provide a feature which provides for the opening of "doors" on small battery-powered devices. It is desirable to provide a magnetic pickup device which is operable with one hand and small enough to reach into small openings without subjecting other adjacent components to stray laterally extending magnetic fields. This necessitates controlling the magnetic field while using a much stronger magnet than has heretofore been commercially available.